1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microwave oven, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for exhausting pollutant in a microwave oven that can improve not only the kitchen environment but also the overall interior environment by quickly exhausting polluted air containing, for example, fumes, moisture, and odor that are generated during cooking process to thereby worsen the kitchen environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
A microwave oven is a sort of cooking apparatus having a magnetron for generating and directing a microwave to food loaded in a cooking cavity of the microwave oven to lead to the molecular movement generating heat for the food.
Particularly, in recent years, an over-the-range (OTR) type microwave oven that is placed over a main cooking device such as a gas oven range has been developed. The OTR type microwave has a function of the cooker itself as well as a function of ventilator that removes fumes and/or moisture generated in the main cooking device during the cooking process. Such an OTR type microwave oven is already well known through publications disclosed by the applicant. (assignee) of the present invention.
FIG. 1 shows a view illustrating a combination of a conventional OTR type microwave oven and a main cooking device, and FIG. 2 shows a view illustrating a discharging process of polluted air out of a conventional OTR type microwave oven.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a main cooking device 10 exampled as a gas oven range and a microwave oven 20 for exhausting polluted air containing fumes and/or moisture generated by the cooking device 10.
The microwave oven 20 includes a cover 21 defining an outer appearance of the microwave oven 20, an intake duct part 23 serving as an intake passage through which the polluted air exhausted from the main cooking device 10 is inhaled into the microwave oven, a blower fan 24 for forming a forced-flow of the polluted air received through the intake duct part 23, a discharge duct part 26 for directing the polluted air exhausted through the blower fan 24 to an interior, a filter 25 disposed in the discharge duct part 26, a grill 27 disposed at an end of the discharge duct part 26, for exhausting air to an exterior, and a door 28 formed on a front side of the cover 21.
The microwave oven 20 is further provided at an inside thereof with a cooking cavity (not shown) where food is placed.
In addition, in order to quickly exhaust the fume generated during the cooking process to the exterior, the microwave oven 20 is further provided with an exhaust hole 30 formed opened at a rear side of the blower fan 24 and a through hole formed in a wall and aligned with the exhaust hole 30.
The operation of the above-described conventional microwave oven will be described hereinafter.
Polluted air containing fumes and/or moisture may be generated in the course of the cooking process. The polluted air is inhaled to the microwave oven 20 through the intake duct part 23 by the blower fan 24, and is then exhausted to the exterior through the exhaust hole 30 and the through hole 36.
In case where it is difficult to exhaust the polluted air to the exterior or the polluted degree of the air is low, the polluted air exhausted from the blower fan 24 is discharged through the discharge duct part 26. While the polluted air is discharged, it is filtered by the filter 25 so that only the purified air is introduced into the interior.
The selection of one of the exhaust functions for discharging the fumes to the exterior through the exhaust and through holes 30 and 36 and to the interior through the discharge duct part 26 can be realized by a selection switch.
Meanwhile, the air intake operation by the rotation of blower fan 24 can be initiated manually by a user or initiated automatically by a temperature sensor 31 formed on the microwave oven 20.
The manual initiating operation for the blower fan 24 is troublesome for the user.
When the temperature sensor 31 is used, the operation reliability may be deteriorated. That is, since a temperature of the polluted air generated in the main cooking device 10 is not generally so high enough to be detected by the sensor, the blower fan 24 may not be operated even when a large amount of fumes is generated.